[CentOS] Differences from upstream RHEL

Fri Nov 13 08:41:39 UTC 2015
Peter <peter at pajamian.dhs.org>

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On 11/13/2015 09:17 PM, Andrew Holway wrote:
> In my experience software compiled for RHEL "just work" with Centos
> and I don't remember any case where it didn't. I have however heard
> whisperings on a grapevine that RH may want to try and make future
> versions of Centos slightly incompatible with RHEL but these are
> probably just whisperings.

Unmitigated rumors.  Until someone official says otherwise there is no
case where CentOS will ever purposefully be made incompatible with
RHEL.  There are some very minor edge cases where it can happen
incidentally due to:

1.  Certain identifying information being changed from RedHat to
CentOS such as the previously mentioned issues where software vendors
explicitly check the redhat-release file and refuse to run if it says
CentOS.

2.  The build process for RedHat is not known and so it is highly
unlikely that the CentOS build process replicates the RedHat one to
the degree needed for full 100% compatibility.

That said, if you find any case where CentOS acts differently to RHEL
with the same packages (and versions) installed in both then please
file a bug report with CentOS as as this would likely constitute a bug
in CentOS and should be fixed if at all possible.

> If you software vendor will not support Centos as RHEL then they
> probably need a good LARTing.

If it runs on RHEL it should run on CentOS as well.  I would fault a
software vendor who explicitly checks the redhat-release file to
exclude CentOS from running, but I don't fault them for not wanting to
support their software on CentOS, that is a choice they make.

At the end of the day when you run proprietary software you are fully
subject to the whims of the software vendor, I never understood how a
commercial business would not only voluntarily put themselves into
such a position but often times want to seek it out over the freedom
that FOSS offers.  Anyways, the vendor is also free to support
whatever OS they want, and you're free to choose not to use their
software.


Peter
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